A Little Light Reading
by darkmystress00
Summary: Daryl helps Beth pick out some reading materials.


t wasn't very often Daryl was left wondering what in the hell just happened. But when Beth Greene walked in, toddler on her hip, demanding baby books Daryl had just stood there and gaped. He'd seen her around town. He knew who she was. No it wasn't that she was in the library that had him standing there mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. It was the presence of the gurgling little girl perched on her hip like she belonged there. He'd stood there so long, just staring at the kid that Beth had narrowed her eyes and been just about to give him a good what for until a volunteer named Sasha had led her away into the depths of the resources of the library. When the last of her sunshine gold hair (which looked amazing when it was curly and tied up in a ponytail like it was today) was out of sight Daryl was able to shake his head and get back to restocking all the returned books from the outdoor drop box. He was lost somewhere in the rows between young adult fiction and elementary informational texts when he heard Sasha calling out her goodbyes and just caught a glimpse of Beth's retreating form. _Probably for the best._ He sighed and went back to stocking the shelves.

He hadn't planned on seeing her again, but damned if she wasn't back the very next day, baby perched on her hip, and demanding more baby books. Rather than go anywhere near him Sasha instantly led the way and they turned a corner without a backwards glance. This time, he caught her before she left, and grumbled something about it being a cute baby she had with her. With a prim "Thank you." She scooped up her books and left. He didn't see her again for two more days.

This time when she came in, she didn't have the baby, and she wasn't demanding baby books, which made Daryl sigh in relief.

"Good afternoon Sasha!" She chirped as she waltzed into the library and continued past the circulation desk towards some unknown destination. Daryl couldn't help but feel a little hurt that she hadn't deigned to acknowledge his presence.

"M gonna go stock books." Daryl grumbled, pushing the book cart in front of him. Sasha cast him a dubious look before he disappeared within the labyrinth of isles. He found Beth, nestled in a corner of the library that was hardly ever used, sitting on the floor, against the wall on the floor, nose stuck so far in the book he was nervous she'd never be able to pull her face back out. "Scuse me." He mumbled as he moved around her. He watched as she peered at him over the edge of the book before heaving a sigh and standing up. He watched as she started to walk away and he knew he didn't want her to dislike him for what ever reason she did. He could stand most of the town not liking him, but not Beth. Beth who didn't hate or dislike anyone in town (except for him apparently.) "Ain't you a bit young to have a baby? Shouldn't you be off going to school?" He blurted out and instantly knew that was the wrong thing to say. She stopped in her tracks and turned around to stare at him, her eyes icy.

"Ain't you a bit old to be volunteering in the library? Shouldn't you have a real job?" She snapped back irritably. Her words stung. She instantly felt contrite. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." She rushed out. "That was mean of me." He just shrugged and turned to leave. He wanted her to at least not dislike him, but he didn't have to stand there and take that kind of crap. He took two steps before he heard her speak again from behind him. "She's not mine. I'm just nannying for her." He stopped and turned to look at her for a second. "There were some problems with the birth and the mom didn't make it. I'm nannying while her daddy is at work and the brother is at school. You know, to make some extra money." He studied her for a second. "That's what the baby books were for…" She rambled. "I don't know the first thing about babies, except what comes naturally, which isn't much. I wanted to know what to do for different things and what to expect while she's growing'." He nodded and took another step. "I didn't mean it, you know." She said softly. "You can do what ever you want to do with your life." He gave her a grunt and continued on his way.

Beth watched as he disappeared around the corner. She had a nagging feeling that she'd really hurt him and that went against every fiber of her being. She liked him, and that was probably the crux of it. She liked him, more than she probably should, and seeing the look on his face when he'd clapped eyes on Judith had made her go all protective and irate in the blink of an eye. She couldn't blame him. She knew the first thing people thought when they saw a girl with a baby was that she was the mom and the baby was hers. She'd had Glenn, her sisters boyfriend, make the same assumption the first time she was babysitting. She really couldn't blame Daryl for making the same assumption. She sighed. She wanted to make it up to him, but she just didn't know how. She looked at the book in her hand, pulled a few more from the shelf and made her way the circulation desk. There was no way she was going to pass hours inside the library reading her afternoon away knowing Daryl was sulking behind a bookshelf somewhere. She would have to take these home and think of something she could do to make it up to him.

When she reached the circulation desk another volunteer was there. He smiled as she set the books down and he scanned her card and the books. "Oh, these were left here for you." He pulled a small stack of books from under the counter. She looked at the titles of the book and stifled a giggle. Brain Rules for Baby: Ages Zero to Five. Along with some board books to read to little Judith. She waited as the volunteer scanned them and then slid them over to her before gently scooping them up and carrying them out. She cast a quick look over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of Daryl stocking books on the shelf. She gave him a quick smile before hugging the books closer to herself and mouthing 'Thank you.' He tipped his head to her and watched as she walked out.

~~~  
It was three days later before Daryl was surprised by Beth bouncing up to him and shoving one of the board books into his hands. She looked upset and worried and he couldn't tear his eyes away thinking she was just absolutely adorable. "Judith loved that book so much, she decided to try to take it into the bath with her and I'm afraid I ruined it." He looked down at the book in his hands. It was clean and pristine and practically brand new. He looked up at her a question in his eyes. "So I bought a new one because I couldn't stomach returning something that was ruined." She rushed out. "Now, because you did the horrible thing of introducing us to Mr. Llama Llama…you need to find me any and all books that contain Mr. Llama Llama…she wont go down with him." She practically whined. He bit his lip gently and steered her towards the child literature section.

"There are a few. C'mon, we'll find you something." She beamed at him. There were indeed four other Llama Llama books that Beth snatched in an instant and a few more she decided she might be able to give a try. "You think you got enough there for a while?" She looked at him aghast.

"Are you kidding? I'll be back tomorrow." She smiled at him. "Maybe you could help me read some of these to her…I have a hard time with the guy voices." She looked at him hopefully. To say his stomach filled with butterflies would have been an understatement.  
"I guess I can help out with that." She beamed at him again before fluttering her lashes and casting a flirty look over her shoulder at him.

"Great…then I guess it's a date." His breath caught in his throat.

"I guess so…"


End file.
